The necromancer Tal Lorvas has unearthed an underground tomb that dates back to the height of the ancient tiefling empire. Lorvas has been terrorizing the surrounding lands with his vile experiments, and now he hopes to find a ring, hidden in the tomb, that is tied to a ritual he wants to perform by the rise of the next full moon. The PCs must enter the tomb of Empress Nemeia, deal with the servants of the necromancer, and confront Tal Lorvas before he can claim the ancient relic and move one step closer to ultimate power over the undead. Pgs. 36-41

What begins as a simple expedition to settle a new village in the ruins of the mysterious Castle Inverness sets off a chain of events that could threaten every living being from Winterhaven to Hammerfast. Not everyone in the Nentir Vale is happy to see civilization brought to Inverness, particularly the ghost of Salazar Vladistone, who commands the spectral legion called the Phantom Brigade. "March of the Phantom Brigade" is an adventure designed for season 4 of the Dungeons & Dragons Encounters official play program. It includes the information the Dungeon Master needs to run the adventure, thirteen ready-to-play encounters (each intended for one session of play), and full-color foldout battle maps depicting the various encounter locations.

From time immemorial, the rulers of the mortal world have been counseled and tempted by capricious primordial spirits who rule over the elements. The greatest and most sinister of these was a half-kraken medusa known as the Maelstrom Queen, who sought to supplant the mortal races with her own line of immortal tentacled monstrosities. On the verge of her ultimate triumph, when the leviathans at her command rose from the depths, a legendary assassin murdered the Maelstrom Queen in her half-submerged palace with her own weapon. But the primordial mistress refused to let something as trifling as death put an end to her designs. Every 13 years, she regenerates enough mystic power to rise again, and the world’s greatest heroes are sent to murder the Maelstrom Queen once more.

Recent earthquakes have unearthed a small section of a lost dwarven fortress. The dwarves are long gone, but rumors suggest they might have left treasure or weapons behind. After a journey into the Underdark, the characters find a barred iron door bearing the names of several ancient dwarven clans. Pgs. 90-95

Floating Eternally among the endless silver void of the Astral Sea are vast, once-living islands, cast-off flesh of primordials and deities who lost their lives sons past in a great war. Today these colossal outposts bear mute testimony to the date of even the mightiest among us. Pgs. 120-127

Protect the Future! At the height of Netheril's power, the fortress of Spellgard held many great secrets of the Empire of Magic. Now, only ruins remain... and one last guardian, the near-mythical Lady Saharel, whose prophetic visions draw the desperate and the doomed from across Faerun. But a dark presence in one of Spellgard's intact towers wants to control the power of prophecy for itself and remake the future in its own image.

The lost Bloodtower has returned, arising from its earthen grave to stand as a mute sentinel over the fog-shrouded moorland. In the weeks since it's return, local travelers have spoken of new undead roaming the countryside. Pgs. 80-87

On the outskirts of town lies an ancient temple to an unknown deity. Periodically, undead creatures issue from the catacombs beneath it. The party receives a commission from the city elders to venture into the catacombs and exterminate the undead. Pgs. 64-71

The city has been plagued by mysterious nighttime assassinations that leave behind no clues about who might have perpetrated them. Divinations from temple of Ioun adherents suggest the guilty parties can be found under a nearby curio shop. The PCs set off. Beneath the shop waits the Poisoned Shadows Assassins Guild, as well as a greater danger than the party expected. Pgs. 54-59

Jelendra, a tulani of summer, has gathered a small following of dark fey creatures to help her get revenge against the Highridge Arcane eladrin elders. When they had the nerve to question her interest (they called it “obsession”) in the destructive power of the Wild Hunt, Jelendra flew into a rage and stormed out of the Highridge Arcane. Now, she controls a fane to an ancient spirit of the Wild Hunt. Not knowing what became of her, the elders ask the adventurers to find Jelendra. “Let her know that she is missed, and we want her to return home,” one elder says. Pgs. 114-119

"The Keepers of the Celestian Order, valiant defenders dedicated to destroying horrors from the Far Realm, have trapped a beholder in its lair. However, the evil aberration has proven far more dangerous than expected, and the Keepers need the help of adventurers to end the threat of Omaranthax once and for all. This Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game adventure, created for Free RPG Day 2012, pits player characters against a mutated beholder and its vile underlings. Although set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, the adventure can be easily adapted to any* D&D world." *: The adventure mentions that it is suitable for any setting touched by the Spellplague.

This deluxe adventure takes heroes into the ruins of Gardmore Abbey, a monastery that was once the base of a militant order of paladins devoted to Bahamut. According to legend, the paladins brought a dark artifact back from a far crusade and stored it in their abbey for safekeeping, and evil forces gathered to assault the abbey and take it back. What the legends don’t tell is that this artifact was actually the Deck of Many Things, a force of pure Chaos. This adventure brings characters into the extensive dungeons beneath the ruins - dungeons that are warped and twisted with the raw forces of Chaos surrounding the cards of the deck.

“The Temple Between” is an adventure for 9th level characters, and it is challenging enough to take them to 11th level by the time all is said and done. Although intended as the final chapter of the heroic tier portion of the Scales of War Adventure Path, it can be run as a standalone adventure, or as an adventure in a campaign of your own making, with a small degree of modification. It contains elements of urban investigation, dungeon delving, and even wartime conflict, making it a suitable adventure to players of many tastes and preferences. The western end of Elsir Vale has been greatly troubled in recent days. The threat of the orc hordes from beyond the Stonehome Mountains, though turned back at Bordrin’s Watch, still lingers in the people’s minds. Peculiar and hostile creatures of shadow lurk in the caverns and caves below. Political squabbling grows among the city’s powerful dwarf clans. All this makes the city particularly vulnerable to an enemy nobody saw coming - that nobody even imagined. This enemy has goals and objectives far beyond the ultimately unimportant Elsir Vale, but the first step is the utter subjugation of Overlook. An enemy who, at least in part, is already here. In this adventure the player characters start by investigating the strange behavior of the city's clergy. They swiftly discover hints of a conspiracy worming its way through the city hierarchy - some members are possessed while others have been replaced by dopplegangers. After trailing this conspiracy to its source they discover a portal that leads to an ancient temple in the mountains. Using the portal, the PCs go to the abandoned ancient temple where they must confront both a cadre of fey and a band of mercenaries, from whom they learn there is a plot for a full-scale invasion of the region! The PCs must them rush back to Overlook and cement their place as heroes as they face off against the invading forces. Pgs. 4-71

Your PCs are reaching the upper end of the heroic tier. New worlds are opening up to them—they might have already ventured to the Feywild, for example, and made contacts with inhabitants of that magical plane. Now they are ready to take their first steps into the darkness. The Shadowfell awaits... Vandariel, a shadar-kai witch who calls herself the Voice of Pain, is a fanatic devotee of the Raven Queen. She has founded and become the self-proclaimed high priest of a bizarre cult, the Lords of Pain, whose purpose is to bring more fey into the shadow pact with that goddess of death. Although the original shadar-kai entered this pact voluntarily, and the race breeds true, Vandariel is consumed by what she sees as a divine mission to reveal the mystery to all fey—whether they wish it or not. Those who do not come voluntarily to the truth are brought against their will. Dark stalkers move like the night, seeking out and abducting suitable subjects. This Side Trek can serve as an introduction to the dangers of the shadow realm. It works well for PCs who are approaching the paragon tier, since it presents a reasonable challenge for characters of 10th level. It is suitable as a climactic encounter for lowerlevel adventurers, as well. It consists of only two encounters.

Long ago, before the arrival of civilized humanoids, a large colony of ogres thrived in the local area. When a great invasion from another dimension threatened this colony, their king, Koptila, prayed for his people to be spared. The gods heard these pleas, but commanded Koptila to sacrifice himself. The leader did so, and the clan disappeared—whisked away by the gods and lost to time. Over the years, a city grew up above the former subterranean home of the ogres, and no aspect of Koptila’s ancient bargain was preserved or remembered. Even so, the stars are aligned for the return of Koptila and his people. These powerful repatriates are unlikely to appreciate the changes in their old home. A sage has found dusty documents prophesying this return, and he asks the PCs to investigate the catacombs to defeat the potential threat to the city. The PCs travel down through city sewers and subterranean passages before finding the catacombs that the ogre colony once called home. Pgs. 48-53

Long rumored to be haunted by eerie specters, Kincep Mansion has stood for years, mostly untouched by nearby townsfolk. Now something is preying on the local villagers—something that comes from the house. Pgs. 46-69

Centuries ago, the four deities worshipped by mortals – Kishar, Kotaresh, Lyth, and Asar-Segt – threatened to drown the world in a flood of saltwater to punish the living for their impiety. The oracles and witches of the realm struck a desperate bargain with the gods, however, and convinced them to spare the world. In exchange, the mortal kingdoms were bound to demonstrate their faith once every generation by sending their most courageous and adroit warriors to the Crucible, a ziggurat in the lowest valley of the land. Every quarter-century, on the first full moon of summer, an eclipse darkens the night and the sealed ziggurat opens. Many traps, tricks, and guardians lie within the Crucible to test those who enter. Few who heed the challenge of the gods survive – most find only quick death. If the races of the world are deserving of the gods’ affection, their champions will overcome the trials of the Crucible and light the Divine Brazier hidden in its uppermost chamber. If they are not, the flickering candle of civilization will be snuffed. Little of value will have been lost. Published by Defy Danger and Save Versus Death

A slaver gang known as the Bloodreavers are terrorizing the countryside from their base deep in the labyrinth under Thunderspire Mountain. But these slavers are only the symptom of a larger threat in the bowels of Thunderspire.

Reavers of Harkenwold pits the heroes against the Iron Circle, a company of cruel mercenaries that has seized control of the small land of Harkenwold. In this adventure, the heroes become daring rebels and lead the folk of Harkenwold against their oppressors.

Many years ago, Evard came to Duponde to destroy his rival Vontarin, a powerful wizard who lived in a manor at the edge of town. The two mages met near the walls of the abbey of St. Avarthil and dueled all night long with black spells, laying the old monastery in ruins with their magic. In the morning, the surviving friars found Evard dead in the wreckage and buried him in the town’s graveyard. Vontarin was never seen again. Now, almost fifty years after his death, Evard’s final curse is about to descend on the town and everyone within it. Also available in Dungeon Magazine #219 Pgs. 30-90